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Esta es la historia de un joven que emigró a US en el estado de California en 1983 por primera vez cuando tenía 14 o 15 años de edad. Esta persona venía con muchas ilusiones de superar monetariamente porque allá en su país, México, creía que no había oportunidades de ganar dinero como lo que tenía la gente que regresaron de los Estados Unidos, pues eso parecía porque los dólares valían muchos pesos. Creo que eran 12 pesos por dólar. Esta persona yo lo conocía bien y platicabamos mucho y me estaba confianza- por eso estoy escribiendo su historia al paso de los 11 meses trabajando. Pudo guardar 3,000 dólares y fue a su país México en el estado de Jalisco. Pero unos meses antes de su regreso a su país natal, empezó a beber cervezas algunas veces, konjac, tequila y algunas bebidas de licor que no recuerdo. Regresó a su estado natal Jalisco con la alegría que tenía de ver regresado y con algún dinero que había juntado trabajando en US. Compró un carro clásico de 4 puertas y todos los días se divertía manejando su carro y celebrando escuchando música y brindando. Pero con el tiempo, regresó a los US con los mismos sueños de superación.  En los años 80, no era difícil cruzar la línea divisoria de México a los Estados Unidos. Los emigrantes han apoyado económicamente a sus familiares en sus pueblos natales, también a la economía de sus regiones y su país. Este joven emigrante regresó a seguir luchando por superación monetaria. Todas las personas inmigrantes que venimos aquí a este país se encuentran con muchos obstáculos-- por ejemplo, comunicarse en diferentes idiomas, navegar diferentes costumbres, y también por algunas razones algunas gentes no nos aceptan. Podemos escribir muchas historias pero nunca vamos a estar de acuerdo porque nadie pensamos igual. Algunos somos demócratas y otros republicanos. Entre todos anda la enfermedad así lo vamos a nombrar el capitalismo.  En las últimas elecciones nos están declarando la guerra contra todas las personas que había cruzado la línea. Le nombran “muro fronterizo.” Para concluir, con buena actitud, AT. ciudadano del mundo. This is the story of a young man who emigrated to the US in the state of California in 1983 for the first time when he was 14 or 15 years old. This person came with a lot of hopes of improving financially because back in his home country of Mexico, he didn’t think there were opportunities to earn the kind of money people came back from the US with, and it seemed to be because dollars are worth so many pesos. I think it was 12 pesos for a dollar. I knew this person well and we talked a lot and he trusted me - that's why I'm writing his story at the end of the 11 months he worked and managed to save 3,000 dollars to return to Mexico. But a few months before his return to his home country, he started drinking occasional beers, konjac, tequila and some liquor drinks that I don’t remember. He returned to his home state of Jalisco with the joy of being back along with some money that he had collected working in the US. He bought a classic 4-door car and had fun driving his car and celebrating with music and drinks. But eventually, he came back to the US with the same dreams of success. In the 80s, it was not difficult to cross the border from Mexico to the United States. Immigrants have provided financial support to their families back home as well as to the economy of their regions and country. This young immigrant returned to continue fighting for financial gain.  All the immigrants who come to this country encounter many obstacles-- for example, communicating in different languages, navigating different customs, and also for various reasons certain people don’t accept us. No matter how many stories we write, we’ll never be on the same page because nobody thinks the same. Some of us are Democrats and others are Republicans. But in all of us lives the disease we call capitalism. In the recent elections they’re declaring war on all people who crossed the border. They’re calling it a “border wall.” In conclusion, with a good attitude, AT. citizen of the world

Hundreds of Stable Workers living in their RV’s at Alameda County Fairgrounds and their families face homelessness and joblessness this Friday! Soon to be Houseless families from Alameda County Fairgrounds with formerly houseless POOR Magazine Youth and Family advocates FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Contact: tiny gray-garcia/muteado silencio, POOR Magazine/Homefulness,510-435-7500  What: Emergency Press Conference   When: 2pm Thursday, March 27 Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds - Gate 12     “I have been working in these stables for over 30 years and then all of sudden I’m jobless and homeless,” said Nicolas Hernandez, who is one of hundreds of workers and RV park residents at Alameda County Fairgrounds facing immediate eviction and job termination due to the end of the “Horse racing industry in California”   “the California Authority of Racing Fairs confirmed Jan. 30 that it will end all Golden State Racing stabling  and training operations in Northern California, including at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. That means that many of the staff, who lived in an RV park on the grounds, may have to vacate by March 25. Workers who stay on the site beyond that date could face fines due to wastewater runoff the state has deemed unsafe, according to the Bay Area News Group .” Houseless and formerly houseless organizers from POOR  Magazine and Oakland Homeless Union are demanding housing resources be offered to the soon to be jobless and homeless workers  “This is a significant population of families with children who will become unhoused if resource providers don’t step in quickly. These families moved from Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley—uprooting their children—to Pleasanton. We see this happen frequently: marginalized populations are moved into other cities, and the city of origin then uses the resulting lower numbers to claim success, rather than revealing the true nature of the reduction in their unhoused population. What is happening in Pleasanton is catastrophic in terms of displacement and the removal of a Latinx community—many of whom have dedicated over 25 years of service to California’s equine industry,”  said Andrea Henson, lawyer and advocate and founder of Where Do We Go , who is working with POOR Magazine to support the families. The hundreds of residents of the park are very low-income, hard-working families with small children who live in Pleasanton and go to neighborhood schools and now suddenly because of the end of an industry face homelessness and joblessness. “They have worked and lived there for decades, how about equity, how about reparations for their years of low-wage work in that billion dollar industry that is closing overnite with no account for the hundreds of workers that kept it alive . They deserve reparations not terminations, they deserve equity not  evictions”, said tiny gray-garcia, formerly houseless, advocate and co-founder of POOR magazine   The press conference will feature residents of the RV park, advocates and formerly houseless members of Voces de inmigrantes en resistencia and Youth reporters from POOR Magazine, Deecolonize Academy, Where Do We go Berkeley and Oakland Homeless Union For updates follow  @poormagazine @wheredowegoberkeley @oaklandhomelessunion

UnTour Thru the Occupied Pacific Northwest to MamaFest Homefulness By tiny aka povertyskola Tiny speaking with relatives in occupied Duwamish land. “We don’t lack the willpower, intelligence, love or heart, we just lack the money,” Tent City 3 resident Joe Molloy’s clarity was beautiful medicine for all of us over-swept, never heard houseless relatives struggling with the degrading demeaning lies constantly being generated and perpetrated about houseless people. Us Houseless/formerly houseless povertyskolaz ( as we call ourselves) from POOR Magazine were getting an inspiring tour thru Tent City 3,  launched by the homeless women-led movements known as SHARE & WHEEL. Joe’s tour was preceeded up by an equally inspiring tour thru Tent City 4 t he day before after our poetry workshop and skills share  with SHARE & WHEEL povertyskolaz.  We were in Chief Siah’l (aka Seattle) on our 3rd UnTour thru the Pacific Northwest to share and teach with tent cities povertyskolaz , and University students on a “solution” to homelessness that we houseless peoples have built and are currently housed in, Homefulness,  like the Tent Cities is in fact a homeless peoples, rent-free, healing housing solution that currently houses 23 houseless families, youth and elders in occupied Huchiun (Oakland) and there are a group of housed and houseless residents who are working hard to bring it or Mamafest it in the Pacific Northwest.  Joe Molloy gives us a tour of Tent City 3. “Sometimes we get so cold out here that we end up doing things we know aren’t safe like light fires in our tents… just to stay alive…” said Keinard Gaines, a talented artist and excellent father who is currently houseless in so-called Tacoma , after a nightmare with a non-profiteer, and Anti-social worker who unhoused him after offering him housing. Our humble Untour took place in the indigenous lands of the Duwamish, Squaxin, Nisqually, Pullyup and many more nations that colonial genocide has erased.  And to be clear I always use the indigenous names for all of the regions of Turtle Island (aka US)  that us houseless people are trying to sit, stand, sleep and live, because as far as i’m concerned you can’t overstand or speak about the violence that rains down on our heads as houseless people, without overstanding the history of genocide of the 1st peoples of this land who were violently removed to build the colonial project known as the US. The same racist, classist, settler anti-poor people lies ( i mean, laws) that incarcerated, murdered, removed  and destroyed hundreds of thousands of thriving nations of people living on Turtle Island through a campaign of erasure, hate and violence, are the exact same “laws” that cause us houseless Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled and poor wite peoples of all nations, to be swept, killed, and removed, all and both in the name of “cleanliness” devil-opment, expansion, renewal, improvement,business and most of all krapitalism .  Scene from one of the book readings. Additionally, to add another disturbing aspect, over 60% of the houseless peoples who participated in our RoofLessRadio WeSearch project in the Pacific Northwest are themselves indigenous to the lands they are “houseless” on. This fact rarely or never gets named by mainstream or even progressive media.  This is why in addition to workshops and skill shares and love - The 2025 UnTour included the release of KlanMarks, Plakkks and ManuMeants - an UnTour Book Across Occupied Turtle Island-  a powerful new POOR Press book which includes the unwashing of colonial genocidal history past and present as well as what i call Resistance Marks, examples of street altars, murals, and sites of remembering for Black, Brown and houseless relatives stolen by the current genocide of PoLice, racism and hate. Helping people overstand that the genocide and removal of 1st peoples and now houseless peoples all across occupied Turtle Island follows the same violent template we are witnessing in Palestine right now.  “They don’t care if it’s snowing or 30 below, they pull up with their bulldozers and take everything and leave us out there in the elements,” another houseless povertyskola spoke to RoofLEssradio  in so-called Tacoma after one of our street writing workshops at St Vincent De Paul’s community center. While we were in there, snow fell to the already freezing ground while houseless relatives figured out how they were going to survive through the night.  As i have spoken and taught many times, the word and concept of “sweeping” humans is one of many hygienic metaphors used to equate us houseless humans with trash, thereby de-linking us from our humanity solely because we don’t have access to the lie of rent.  Once the general public no longer sees us as human like them, they can easily rationalize our being removed from so-called public spaces, i.e, we are no longer members of the public even when many of us used to live in homes in these in areas or lands for generations but due to eviction, crisis, violence, we are hiding and trying to survive outside. In addition, as i have often done, we need to examine the settler lie of public space itself.  Finally, this krapitalist society CONtinues to disrespect and silence our voices, our solutions, and our survival. They would like to kill us all like they just did with Cornelius Taylor in Atlanta and James Edward Oakley in Vallejo, but we have solutions and they work. Homefulness works, Tent city works, we just need to be listened to.

Momii Palapaz, PNN poverty scholar “I want to point out the other resistance marks in this beautiful prayer…the resistance marks of our warriors lost to police terror.. Mario Woods, Luis Temaj, Iris Canada, a 100 year old Black elder evicted from her home of 40 years.  Because capitalism kills”.   Tiny, co-founder of POOR MAGAZINE, introduces the beautiful prayer, The UnTour Book, Across Occupied Turtle Island. From Yelamu, to Suquamish, Standing Rock to Alcatraz, the UnTour Book is a compilation of resistance marks, from poverty scholars in communities and towns, where rivers, mountains and forests were destroyed and threatened.  The poverty scholars' untours crossed Turtle Island meeting Indigenous relatives from all over the world at Standing Rock, South Dakota, visited communities of Black and Brown displacement, and met movements of poor brothers and sisters in cities such as Philadelphia, New York City, Tallahassee, Nashville, Boston…housed and unhoused, fighting for justice. Aunti Frances Moore, co-founder of Self Help Hunger Program, brought to everyone’s attention the long trek walking into history while producing the book. “ The chain of lies has been broken”, she said, “All the atrocities, the blood sweat and tears that my ancestors shed… it’s a miracle that I’m still standing tall.”  Share Wheel resident Harriet with Vick and Aunti Frances Aunti Frances reads at Orca Books, Olympia, WA Unhoused and Unheard “Homelessness is instability, insecurity, always wondering when the next shoe will drop. Un-certain where I’m waking up,”  wrote Harriet.  Her shoulder length brown hair framed her face that smiled as we talked on our first stop of the untour.  Share Wheel Shelter in Seattle, Washington, temporarily houses over 40 women from the bitterly cold February weather.   Over 20 women, mostly elders, promptly wrote stories reminding the reader of the lack of permanent housing, the system’s constant abuse, the desert of mental health support and poor people’s solutions.  The enthusiasm energized the room.  Rarely do unhoused people get asked to share their stories, opinions and solutions to homelessness. Harriet finished her story, writing, “Constant super-vigilance, must be awake - aware who is around me, who is honest, who do I need to steer clear of. “   For years, POOR MAGAZINE writing workshops have given hundreds of unhoused community members the platform to be the voice for the unhoused and unheard.  The latest sessions were also held at Tent City #3, University of Washington and St. Vincent De Paul's community center in Tacoma.   Colonizer scam Centuries of land stealing, and centuries of the fight for independence, sovereignty and international solidarity have been erased from colonizer made history.  From territories to reservations, communities of Black and Brown, immigrant and working class, poor people’s struggles are made invisible while klanmarks dot cities with KKK manuments praising and celebrating racial violence, slavery, displacement and massacres of indigenous tribes people  Spanish weapons of mass destruction invaded Ohlone land with the Missions of California.  Junipero Serra, was a colonizer who raped, kidnapped, enslaved, murdered, sold and tortured the Indigenous population up and down the Ohlone coast. tiny at the Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA Vick at Bulldog News, Seattle, WA   Two spirits, Vick Toreya, of Sogorea’ Te read passages from an interview with POOR MAGAZINE in the UnTour Book , page 71. “It was on Indigenous People’s Day, October 12, 2022.  He’s ( J.Serra) the reason why we have the missions here in California and why so many of our California Indian relatives are still suffering some of the long term effects of the mission development system, which eventually turned into the prison industrial complex. This colonizer basically brought the missions to California, starting with the first mission in San Diego… to the closest ones to where I’m at on Lisjan Ohlone territory right now…known as Oakland and The Bay Area..These statues represent genocide, rape and the extermination of Indigenous people.”          Areya, Solidarity Family Rick Williams, master carver              tiny, Toby and Christy, St. Vincent DePaul’s, Tacoma, WA POOR UNTOURS took me to Denver, discovering the gentrification schematic that repeats itself across turtle island.   Driving miles southeast, in the dry, suffocating heat, I felt the hot wind, the dusty dirt that panted for moisture. Not a soul could be seen on this desolate trek.  Somehow the ancestors were welcoming me as we neared the Japanese American Concentration camp, Amache, named after the daughter of Cheyenne Chief Ochinee.  I cried without restraint, taking in the despair and sacrifices of my ancestors.  My life wouldn’t be here without their inspiration and resilience.  Just north a ways, we met the descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre.  Prayers and dansa were laid to honor the martyrs of this site.  On page 168, the UNTOUR BOOK  tells the herstory of hundreds, mostly women and children, massacred by the U.S. Army in 1864. The POOR MAGAZINE week long UNTOUR BOOK launch was imagined and introduced by POOR MAGAZINE co-founder tiny Garcia, with poverty scholars and POOR Solidarity Family. Bulldog News, Cafe Red, Evergreen State College and Orca Books (Olympia, WA), and King Books (Tacoma, Puyallup Tribe) hosted the POOR MAGAZINE Untour Book Readings, with guests, Rick Williams, Eagleson, Lisa Ganser, and poets. Jay, Areya, Ed, Tye, Joy, Kaitlan and Seamus, from the POOR Solidarity Family coordinated the launching of the UNTOUR BOOK in Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle (the city originally named after Chief Si’ahl in the 1860’s for the Duwamish and Suquamish natives).

Human feces at the Cabins from leaking sewage pipe that was never maintained properly - foto courtesy of Wood Street Commons For Immediate Release:  Contact:  John Janasko: Wood Street Commons (510) 712-7639  Tiny garcia : POOR Magazine/Homefulness  (510-435-7500  After claiming the City of Oakland had created a housing “solution” to homelessness they make us homeless again.  Wood Street Commons, Oakland Homeless Union  and POOR Magazine hold a press conference in front of the failed, abandoned and dangerously neglected “housing solution” in West Oakland known as the “cabins”  On Monday March 24, 2025,at 11 am, residents of the cabins, along with houseless and  formerly houseless  leaders from Wood Street Commons, Oakland Homeless Union, and POORmagazine/Homefulness, will be holding a press conference at 2601 Wood Street, Oakland, CA, the site of the RV park and Community Cabins that will be closed at the end of the month.).  "The complete lack of oversight from top to bottom is nothing unique; it's the fabric that holds together the homeless industrial complex. It's time for the city to start listening to the residents and resident leaders, who have been fighting to be heard this entire time" Freeway, former resident of the Cabins and organizer with Wood Street Commons and The Oakland Homeless Union.. Residents of the Wood Street Community Cabins and Safe Parking Site were informed by management that the “Cabins” or interim housing site will be closed because the city has stopped paying the non-profit service provider operating the site, Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) Residents have been given no indication that they will be allowed to continue residing on site or offered alternative accommodation, and approximately 80 people are now at risk of becoming unsheltered.  "I'm not sure how I could be disappointed, when I never had high hopes from the beginning," “J” a houseless resident of the “Cabins” who will be on the street again after they close the cabins. Wood Street Commons, the Oakland Homeless Union, and POOR magazine, are declaring that the site should become a self-governed sanctuary community in which residents will be granted security of tenure until they receive permanent supportive housing and be empowered to manage the site autonomously. Wood Street Commons invites all grassroots community service organizations and frontline service providers to support the residents in the face of their abandonment by the city by helping provide food, services, donations, camaraderie, friendship and solidarity.  “The politricksters & LIEgislators refuse to listen to houseless people when we present our own practicable, affordable and healing housing solutions like Homefulness and Wood Street Commons and instead resort to endangering our lives with violent, expensive sweeps and inhumane, uninhabitable,life-threatening so-called housing.”said tiny gray-garcia, formerly houseless cofounder POOR Magazine/Homefulness “The feces gushing out of the cabins plumbing is just the final proof they would rather kill us than listen to us.” concluded tiny The organizations call on all allies and supporters of unhoused people to advocate to the City of Oakland and Alameda County to embrace the self-governed sanctuary model, pledge not to displace Wood Street residents before they can receive housing, respect resident autonomy in the management of their community, financially support a nutrition program, and improve residents’ access to healthcare.  “Preliminary agreements made by the City to Wood Street Commons  community were not met with the cabins being built,” aid LaMonte Ford, one of the formerly houseless residents of Wood Street Commons and survivor of the violent eviction by the City of Oakland The city of Oakland’s 2022 homeless services audit found that more people exit from the cabins to homelessness than to housing, falling dramatically short of their “positive exit” targets. In 2023, the District 3 Councilmember requested an official report by C’mon Falls, the then Homelessness Coordinator for the City of Oakland. This report was supposed to include the rate of successful exits into permanent housing, as well as the services that were then being offered at all emergency intervention sites, such as the Wood Street Cabins. This report was never produced and since then C’mon Falls has resigned from that position, leaving many more questions than answers for residents and allies alike. BOSS and the city have demonstrably failed to provide safe and dignified living conditions at the Wood Street cabins. In a series of press conferences last year, residents and allies called attention to abusive staff and roiling staff turnover; ignored disability accommodation requests; ineffective housing navigation; mold growth in many of the cabins; disrepair of bathrooms, s; kitchen and laundry facilities, including nonfunctioning toilets and showers and kitchen ranges that residents are unable to access or use after certain hours; sewage seeping out of the ground; paperwork lost by staff; lack of employment training; insufficient access to healthcare. One resident described the site as a mere “storage area for homeless people.” Another said residents are treated as an inconvenience when they ask for help with paperwork and documentation. Resident demands for accountability have been ignored, and those lucky enough to get permanent housing placement had done so with the help of outside service providers, not the onsite staff Recent investigative reporting by Cal Matters  has confirmed what unhoused residents and advocates have already been saying, which is that emergency shelters are unsafe, lack oversight, and are ineffective at getting people out of homelessness. And one study found that the increased unhoused mortality risk of 350% is the same for both sheltered and unsheltered individuals, demonstrating that emergency shelters do not constitute effective public health interventions. Wood Street Commons and partner organizations, advocates that all interim housing and safe parking programs be subject to the shelter monitoring system designed by Ian Cordola Morales, from the advocacy organization Where Do We Go?, with the assistance of unhoused and formerly unhoused advocates with Wood Street Commons, to provide independent oversight and hold service providers accountable for ensuring high standards of safety and care for residents.  The non-profit service providers operating city-managed emergency interventions such as BOSS, Operation Dignity, BACS and Urban Alchemy have little trust or credibility in the community due to their dismal track records of providing safe and dignified conditions, which is why Oakland and Alameda County should move towards resident self-governance of interim housing sites based on the model outlined in the Homeless Advocacy Working Group’s “Self-Governed Sanctioned Communities” policy proposal.  Furthermore, we are demanding that the City of Oakland, immediately implement a moratorium on sweeps, until at such time a thorough investigative report is done on the success rates of these so-called “transitional housing” programs. In said audit, we insist that an independent audit into the appropriation of funds towards contracts with non-profit service providers that have been in operation for more than 10 years, be included. Click on this link  for sanctuary solutions/demands created by houseless and formerly houseless residents and leaders of Homefulness/POOR Magazine and Wood Street Commons  Please follow: IG @woodstreetcommons IG & fb: @poormagazine

People With Disabilities Organizing, Krip-Hop Newest Chapter Interview by Leroy Moore Leroy Moore: Tell me more about your recent event and why you organized it? Tino Mudarikwa: Our recent event was a joint commemoration of Rare Diseases Day, International Wheelchair Day and World Birth Defects Day. We chose to do this commemoration with the most impoverished group of people with various disabilities from our oldest suburb in our town. We managed to provide a decent meal to everyone who attended. Leroy: What did you do at the event and how are you going to build on it? Tino Mudarikwa: What we did at event was to gather persons with various disabilities and reminded them that they are not cursed or bewitched. We also had the medical students present on spina befida, cerebral palsy and other forms of Rare Diseases. We plan to increase the number of Zimbabwe Medical Students Association to work with us and attend to needs of our beneficiaries medical Leroy: What does the government do for people with disabilities in zimbabwe? Tino Mudarikwa: The government doesn't do much, I last heard the social welfare ministry gave money equivalent to $7.00 Leroy: Have there been protests against the government for more services and to raise the benefit from $7 to more? Tino Mudarikwa: People are scared to protest they can be arrested for protesting. It happens in many African countries! Leroy: What wow! Are there disability laws there? Tino Mudarikwa: There is a Disability Bill that is waiting for the President's signature. Leroy: What’s your future work and where does the new Krip-Hop chapter come in to the future of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe? And did Zimbabwe sign the United Nations Treaty on Disability, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD)? Tino Mudarikwa: This is not what is on the ground right now. Persons with disabilities are marginalized in Zimbabwe. Leroy: So how can Krip-Hop Nation can help? Tino Mudarikwa: We think that our involvement with Krip-Hop Nation and establishing Krip-Hop Nation Zimbabwe Chapter will be a game changer for musicians with disabilities in Zimbabwe. We will have a platform where we can showcase talent, where we can publish our work online as musicians with disabilities. So it is crucial that we open up Krip-Hop Nation Zimbabwe Chapter. I also think that having a Krip-Hop Nation Zimbabwe Chapter would give opportunity to networking with other persons with disabilities from other countries, specifically from South Africa our neighbor. If we are to work and connect with South Africa, we will learn a lot from what they've been doing as a chapter. Networking is something we look forward to and hopefully get some support from our networks and have exchange programs in the arts and music to be specific.

(Watch Poor NewsNetwork Video of press conference here ) By Tiny Gray-Garcia Vallejo Homeless Union, POOR Magazine, Mixed Kollective and ComeUnity standing together demanding #JusticeForJames Edward Oakley- picture by Pancho Patera/POOR Magazine  “I dont have anymore energy to move,” “But the sweeping machines are coming for us Mama” “Whatever…” her last syllable trailed off as she looked down. I remembered this terrifying conversation with my mama when i heard about the violent death by sweep that killed lifelong Vallejo resident James Edward Oakley. Me and Mama were crumpled up in a doorway of an abandoned building. We had already had our car-home towed. We had already had our tent and all of our precious belongings stolen. And now they were coming again. To sweep us out of this doorway. To nowhere. James Edward Oakley, 58, was murdered by the violence of sweeps “They knew James was there when they ran that backho through that lot,” said Shawn O’Malley, longtime friend of James and a currently houseless organizer with the Vallejo Homeless Union. JUSTICE FOR JAMES!... the crowd in front of so-called Vallejo City hall joined me in a scream, a cry, a wail for another houseless relatives life stolen by the violence of sweeping us like we are trash…tiny povertyskola The terrifying death of 58 year old, James Edward Oakley, from the violence of sweeping humans like we are trash on Christmas Eve of 2024 was hastily adjudicated by the Vallejo District Attorney, soonafter his death, which conveniently released them from all criminal liability, likity split, But all of us houseless/formerly houseless povertyskolaz from Vallejo Homeless Union, POOR Magazine and Mixed Collective knew better. We barely live though these violent attacks known as “sweeps” on our bodies and lives and sadly many of us don’t survive. Lo and behold when Shawn said the City of Vallejo knew he was there, the newly released evidence is proving him right. Shannon Marie Bigley , Cornelius Taylor, Desiree Quintero and James Edward Oakley, all murdered by a “Sweep” they should all be alive today… tiny aka povertyskola Altar for James Truth Comes to Light  A coroner’s investigation released Monday showed contradictions between what city workers told police, and what investigators discovered upon arriving at the scene. According to the report Oakley had been lying on a mattress under blankets and clothes when one of the “sweepers” (employed by the City of Vallejo) smashed him with the bucket of the city-owned backhoe The backhoe operator then scooped up a pile of debris and began moving it toward a dump truck. Another member of the work crew then spotted Oakley’s leg dangling from the bucket of the backhoe. Sweeping us since 1492…Aunty Kim De Ocampo  “They have been “sweeping” us since 1492…” Miwok warrior sister, aunty and Board member of Sogorea Te Land Trust, grounded the day in the original theft of Turtle Island the reign of terror that the settler colonial goverments have been perpetrating violent removal and genocide on Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled and poor bodies since the beginning of the colonizers reign of terror. Kim was one of many powerful houseless, poor, indigenous speakers and prayer bringers from occupied Sogorea Te (aka so-called Vallejo) and POOR Magazine who spoke at an emergency press conference held on Tuesday outside the Vallejo City Council. Following the Grants Pass Vs Johnson Superme Court Ruling that deemed houseless residents of the US no longer protected by the 8th amemdment of the constitution state and city legislators, police and sheriffs enhanced their already violent "sweeps" policy of houseless people by directing state agencies to dismantle homeless encampments on state land Hundreds of houseless elders and disabled adults lives have become gravely endangered and have died in increasing numbers due to this state sponsored violence over the last several months that is being threatened to get worse under the new administration. "People aren't debris, Natalie Peterson! Where do we go?" We have demands and solutions “Stop the homeless sweeps.. said Kat of the Vallejo Homeless Union, reading off a powerful list of demands for the city of Vallejo that have already been presented to the City by the Vallejo Homeless Union. Kat continued, "2)….. stop indiscriminately moving us around….3).the City of Vallejo needs to provide services to all residents of encampments…4) they need to release all records of …5) we need pest control and safety from people who target us…6).We need the City of Vallejo to stop people from illegally dumping on homeless encampments… we are no different from housed folks, no-one wants to live in a trash pile…7) The City of Vallejo needs to release all records on James Edward Oakley We want to work with the City of Vallejo, You cannot solve the problem of homelessness without our input…” Kat concluded this beautiful list of very logical “demands” for life from a City government who would rather remove, sweep and ultimately kills us rather than listen to us. (To read the complete list of demands from Vallejo Homeless Union go to poormagazine.org at this link ) “They killed my kittens in a sweep,” Kathy, another long-time houseless resident of so-called Vallejo and powerful co-leader of the Vallejo Homeless Union spoke about her story of surviving a violent sweep that resulted in the bulldozing death of her beloved kittens and the loss of all of their belongings and so much more. “The city is not saying their actions were criminal but they sure sound criminal to me, he was a human being ….The city needs to change their policies,hopefully they will….but we won’t stop until they do,” concluded Shawn. At a rally demanding Justice for James JUSTICE FOR JAMES… Stop Sweeping Us Like We Are Trash “I am a longtime Vallejo resident, just like James was and I experienced homelessness and as all of us Vallejo residents know, there isn’t much support here for any of us in struggle, said Lori Herrerra, artist and founder of Mixed Kollective and povertyskola reporter and Po Poet with POOR Magazine. “JUSTICE FOR JAMES- we have actual solutions- not more pain…tiny “We have actual solutions, not more sweeps, solutions like Homefulness, which currently houses 23 houseless youth, adults and elders in rent-free forever housing, houseless folks like me who are now securely housed with my daughter and partner., said LeaJay Harper, formerly houseless resident of Wood Street Commons and now Homefulness resident We aren’t seen as humans, thats why they keep using these hygienic metaphors about our bodies; sweeping, cleaning, removing and endlessly gentriFUking us from our communities… tiny aka povertyskola “He was a gentle giant kind of guy, if i needed a jump or something he’d be right there, many times actually, you could always count on him,” Shawn spoke through tears. JUSTICE FOR JAMES - JUSTICE FOR JAMES- JUSTICE FOR JAMES!!! For updates on the ongoing case for Justice for James Edward Oakley follow @vallejo.homeless.union and @poormagazine on IG. For more information about homeless peoples solutions to homelessness click on www.poormagazine.org/homefulness and www.WoodStreetCommons.org Gratitude to Matthew Brown of Open Vallejo media for facts on the coronors report . Watch video of press conference here

From The Vallejo Homeless Union Pictured: Kathleen McNeil of the Vallejo Homeless Union My name is Kathleen McNeil. I am a founding member and Mutual Aid Officer of the Vallejo Homeless Union. I am also a second generation Vallejoan. Today we ask that you join us in demanding the City of Vallejo: Stop the homeless sweeps Stop indiscriminately moving us around Stop killing us We have real problems, we need real solutions. We have real solutions. The City of Vallejo needs to hold their staff accountable. The City of Vallejo needs to investigate the accusation made in Christina Lee's lawsuit: Did Natalie Peterson delete text messages about housing and homelessness? Did she, in fact, falsify HUD documents? The City of Vallejo needs to release all records of the sweep that killed James Oakley. The City of Vallejo needs to provide basic services to homeless encampments. We need dumpsters We need pest control We need safety from people who target us We need the City of Vallejo to stop people who are illegally dumping at homeless encampments. We aren't any different from housed people in that respect - no one wants to live in a trash pile. We need somewhere to go. We want to work with the City of Vallejo to end homelessness in Vallejo. Will the city of Vallejo work with us? Give us a seat at the table. You cannot solve these problems without our input and our help.

U.S. Troops Landing in Cuba Every day I see news about the conflict in Palestine, Yemen, Ukraine, and so many more countries. It made me think about the past, as I always do being a sort of unofficial historian. The things that come to mind the most are the Banana Wars. Conflicts aimed to protect the business interests of the United States, namely the fruit companies, hence the name of the conflicts. I had the idea to do a sort of series spanning the end of the Spanish-American war in 1898, and the introduction of the Good Neighbor policy in 1934.  When most people see a banana, they think of a fruit, a smoothie usually paired with strawberries. Innocent enough, right? WRONG. When I (an ardent historian) see a banana, I think of the United States Marine Corps storming Central American and Caribbean nations under the guise of maintaining order, but in reality it was to protect American business interests, such as the multitude of fruit companies littered all over Central America, hence the term Banana Wars.  At the time, U.S. foreign policy in the Americas was mainly structured around the Monroe Doctrine, a policy that both opposed European colonialism in the western hemisphere, while also professing that any such foreign intervention would also be considered an attack on the United States itself. This would be a key aspect to the events to come in the late 19th and early to mid 20th century when it comes to the numerous Central/South American interventions.  I can’t say for sure when all of this began, but I would say that the Banana Wars began right at the conclusion of another conflict, the Spanish-American War (1898). With the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States entered its “Age of Imperialism”, gaining control of Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippine Islands. This propelled the United States to a sort of imperial power, on the stage with other countries like the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and so on.  This ended up creating multiple conflicts, as the people of these nations had no real say on what would happen to them or their country. In Puerto Rico, a military government was installed beginning the “Americanization” of the island. A brief period of resistance followed, eventually ending due to the infrastructure projects providing employment to the discontented people involved with the civil disobedience. The military government was replaced with a civilian one, beginning the rise of the “sugar economy”, as it was with many of the island nations in that time, especially ones under the former control of the Spanish.  In Cuba, the situation was a little different. Like Puerto Rico, the Cuban government was ever so graciously (ugh) given its own military government. In addition to this, the U.S. Congress would pass a piece of legislation known as the Platt Amendment, which “officially defined the relationship of the United States and Cuba”, as well as defined the conditions that Cuba as a nation would need to meet before being given its full independence.  This, of course, would basically be a joke. The amendment would be used as a pretext for U.S. meddling for the next couple decades. Worst of all, this amendment had a passage forcing Cuba to add the whole piece of legislature into its new constitution, basically letting the United States have a sort of soft power over the country.  This would be the blueprint for what was to come for the next 36 or so years until the introduction of the Good Neighbor policy under Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the next part of this series, we will go into the early interventions of the United States, specifically the Dominican Republic, and Panama, as well as the involvement of the United Fruit Company.

RoofLESS radio Street Writing Workshops are offered by fellow houseless/formerly houseless povertyskolaz at POOR Magazine in schools, jail cells, shelter beds and wherever us poor peoples are... Jen The first time my world fell apart was the most difficult one Because I learned that everything I was told by those who said they loved me…was a lie.  Lost everything except my kids because they were shunned, too. And the values I was taught were treated as flaws. Mistakes. Or worse.  Don’t teach me to be honest and then expect me to play along with a lie.  Don’t teach me empathy And then expect me to stay silent. When I see another’s pain: Don’t teach me to help others but then reprimand me for doing so.  Don’t teach me courage and then try to convince me to live based on fear.  I have every right to be angry because betrayal trauma has been a near constant in my life.  I have a hard time connecting  because I am always expecting to be kicked while I’m down. By the ones that I love…By the ones that I trust.  But there’s a twist to this story.  Because there is kindness everywhere.  And even though I sometimes feel like I was raised by monsters I understand that FEAR  is what makes a monster And it can happen to anyone.  But it can also be reversed. —----------------- Donell Hawkins My Friend got kild by INwood PD In my face —------- Soup Although currently housed I spend a lot of time on the street serving food to neighbors.  Cops will frequently come harass me about permits.  One time they dumped my pot of soup on the ground and said I would be arrested if I didn’t move all my stuff.  It took a while for me to want to go back out again. —------------ The Ripper I'm homeless because of myself.  Didn’t want what I had.  And what I wanted didn’t want me.  I’m learning a different part way of life.  My eyes seeing the truth, the fake people.  Even the one’s who calls of friends and family won’t even offer a closet to sleep in. WOW!!  Been fortunate not to deal with police or sweeps, but lost a lot, just to those who needed it more than me —------- Courtney N Love, Lived Experience Coalition, Tacoma, WA  ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE 2006 my mom & her cop boyfriend were arrested for SA’ing my little brother it knocked me on my ass.  My new husband wasn’t equipped to support me and instead chose emotional, psychological, financial & occasionally physical abuse.  We finally separated, but I had no family left and knew it was just a matter of time before I was unhoused.  2021, I was evicted, landed in a small trailer on a friends property - no running water, no heat, toting my water and waste, thankful that I wasn’t susceptible to the risks of the streets.  Through the remnants of my social connections and *political engagement, I came in contact with the Lived Experience Coalition, a for-us, by-us, Black, Brown & Indigenous led org that welcomed me, lifted me up, validated my advocacy-because the “We is always stronger that the “me” Ubuntu -I am, because We are. * Founder was engaging in political space that I was barely holding onto —------------------ Anonymous It started with a bullshit parking ticket against a single mama tryin’ to keep it together transmitted through time & hatred into an arrest warrant the PoLice said they had to execute during a traffic stop.  For lack of a ? they took her away in handcuffs; she cried the whole time. I told the cop she’d been traumatized & is autistic as if he would care. He put her in the back & I followed to the station on a Sunday rural time moves slow when the want.  Her continued screaming forced them at least to get a woman to search her but in her rage she broke their fingerprint machine the way she did every laptop her energy too much for stupid machines. —---------------- Darren The worst day was when I was forced out of where I had been staying and had to leave my daughters with my parents.  I couldn’t afford rent anymore/hadn’t recovered since COVID * divorce and couldn’t stomach forcing my girls to live in a car. —------------- Patrick I was born in a crack house to be blunt, eviction was as familiar as poverty and uncertainty.  Chaos was normality and brokenness? was a family member.  I love that I was humbled before I had the chance to be ungrateful.  I love God and how he always make a way.  I'm still here and breathing.  For that money would have gotten in the way of me realizing my need For him there for a reason and if you are breathing …so are you. —-------- Anonymous I will never forget the time when I was living w/rats and bed bugs on top of that facing eviction called no fault eviction. at any rate I was abt to be displaced and homeless. —------------

Tent City 3 in Seattle, Washington RoofLESS radio Street Writing Workshops are offered by fellow houseless/formerly houseless povertyskolaz at POOR Magazine in schools, jail cells, shelter beds and wherever us poor peoples are... Watch the RoofLESS radio video reports on PoorNewsNetwork Cidnee   When CPS took Isaaiah and Abraham after fighting to keep us together When my mother helped auction of Matthew and Mary to the highest bidder How my mother FINALLY got rid of Abraham and is currently using his social security number and documents so she can get 3 bedroom here in Seattle (She has a 3 bedrooms in Texas) while Im homeless (6 months TX, 6  months Seattle) and Abraham is in a group home in Houston. —---------- Anitra Freeman I was about 19 when Mom woke me up in the middle of one night, to tell me, very seriously and urgently, how to tie the sheets together in a rope to lower the younger kids, then myself, out the window.  Then run to the neighbor’s house.  And call the police.  If Daddy killed her. Daddy never killed her.  Or even hit her.  Or hit any of us.  But mom had bipolar disorder, and got a lot of weird ideas sometimes.  One night she was throwing coffee cups at the walls because demons were coming through to kill her. That wasn’t when we became houseless.  But Mom’s problems, and Dad’s problems, meant we were always “housing insecure”, moved a lot and because we moved a lot, Mom + Dad’s problems, and mine, didn’t get diagnosed + addressed. Poverty is a whole web of things, most woven out of “nobody paying attention.”  The more problems you have, the farther you sink out of sight. —---------- Robert Coleman A few days ago, I spent about a whole day running around while sick just trying to get my prescription for my mental wellbeing. Hi my name is Robert and I am a Homeless man from a lot of different places.  Most recently  I’ve been in Washington to be with my Fiance.  I personally Have been Homeless for most of my adult life. —---------- Modus One day during my first week outside I was waking up in a park and hearing police yelling at me to find somewhere else to be.  Not knowing where best to go, I moved into a green belt with my tarp and tent.  I was lucky, I thought, I had a storage unit I could keep things for a while.  I set up a spot on a hillside, lots of wind but it was warm enough, glad to have met the challenge of the day. —---------- Joe Molloy I’m not sure how many days.  I started to keep track, initially.  But then it felt like one of those scenes in a prison movie.  Marking hashes on a wall.  In the movie, they speed up.  Cut To - months, years later.  There’s no cut.  Some of these days just drag without no plot.  It’s a countdown.  They know how long they’ll be there.  Counting up.  Counting Down.  I was just counting.  I came into this “radicalized”.  Helping, working, whatever I could do inside the “industry” of Homeless services.  I heard one of them say once - “I’m ready to Hire someone, but Not someone too “Radicalized”.  I said - I never met anyone like that.  I’ve only met folks trying to survive.  And folks that have learned the Truth.  No point in counting.  It’s not going anywhere. —---------- SIPILIANO PETERS HOMELESSNESS: I’M IN AND OUT OF HOMELESSNESS. DIVORCE:  I LEFT MY WIFE AND END-UP HOMELESS AND STAYED IN VARIOUS SHELTERS I WAS IN AND OUT OF HOMELESS CAUSE OF PERSONAL PROBLEMS  —------- Dut? 2025 MS Aug 25th 2023 was going to my worst and my best day all in one.  Going thru some stuff w/kids also it started 2 yrs Prior the day in speaking.  By the end of 8/25/2023 i realized i would have given up and leave Minnesota.  In a fleeing moment i knew in my heart it’s not safe here in MN>  so i had so much going good and left/lost all to never return to MN.  Middle brother/both both my kids (daughter + son) all want me dead or maybe worse.  Came to Seattle to relocate and start Fresh. Watching over my young siblings and baby brother 9-11 hours a day in the Safeway Cafe while our mom worked.   We weren’t allowed to stay at the shelter alone.  Knowing that w/o this shelter, we would freeze to Death in just a few hours.  Having to accept unacceptable shelter, and to know mom was doing unacceptable things to get us that shelter.  Having to help.  I was most thankful for having my cats back at the end of everything. I still wonder if it shortened their lives by years, after saying goodbye to them both. —---------- K I don’t have words for my give back. They’re lodged in my throat and I can’t see through the tears in my eyes. I can barely Breathe but I need to impart the fear and hope and poison that’s been churning in my body for months.  You have been hurt longer, and in different ways, but I feel safe and with family after your talk. Thank you, keep each other safe. —---------- ANONYMOUS I’ve been lucky to stay off the streets, only brushing up against the edge of the knife, kept warm & dry by friends and the generosity of strangers.  But since moving here the trauma has accumulated anyway, though ?-making friends with a lady who lived off Pac Ave with her brothers, finding out she passed away murdered by cold or overdose a few month after her brother, from hearsay- where’s her memorial?  How can we mourn when life is devalued live this. Fuck the city for sweeping and sweeping and the store avengers who torture those who merely ask to sit outside. —---------- Ellen Goetch It’s incredible to me how easily we as human beings forget that we are all in the same  boat as inhabitants of this earth and members of the human race.  The biggest differences that set us truly apart are nothing more than the ? trappings of wealth of the lack thereof, the backpack, which used to be the symbol of scholarship, self-betterment, and learning has now become a symbol of poverty and homeless and/or being “other”.  Every time I am in public in a mixed group of homeless and housed peoples, I became acutely aware of all the eyes scrutinizing ?  this essential luggage on my back that hold my few meager belongings that are important enough and sacred enough to be carried with me at all times.  There are so many times during any given day that I feel like I am some attraction in a zoo or circus show due to something as simple as having the convenience of carrying my home on my back.  My backpack is not the only homeless identifying characteristic though…another more embarrassing and shameful marker of my homelessness that I am confronted with multiple times a day is the smell of campfire on my clothing and self.  While I am with others who live outdoors and use campfire to keep warm I don’t recognize my “otherness”, however once I am surrounded by primarily housed folks, I can smell the musky,  sour smoke in my hair and clothes and feel the ? shame of my smell. —-------------------

Photo by Kelly Sikkema  on Unsplash RoofLESS radio Street Writing Workshops are offered by fellow houseless/formerly houseless povertyskolaz at POOR Magazine in schools, jail cells, shelter beds and wherever us poor peoples are... Anitra Freeman I became homeless because this society won’t bother to keep you alive if you aren’t of economic value.  I couldn’t work because of depression.   A home is the place you can be yourself.  If we unequivocally accept and love each other, we can be ourselves everywhere, and we will be at home anywhere. —----------------- Harriet Homelessness is instability, insecurity, Always wondering when the next shoe will drop. Uncertain where I’m waking up.  Constant super-vigilance, must be awake - aware who is around me, who is honest, who do I need to steer clear of.  No matter how I feel or think, Having to do what “others” tell me to do.  Being away from my children, my grandchildren.  Not having enough to pay raised rent, inured with no insurance.  Taking 10 years and a fractured body to finally be allowed to get legal I.D.  I existed enough to throw me in jail for “vagrancy” not enough to get a motel. Everything!  My dream is to build communities and help people heal.   —--------------------------- Joy Homelessness is not having stability or family and having to rely on the uncertainty of others’ genuine or disingenuous generosity whether relatives who think you overstay your welcome & ?  much or shelter on the streets or foster care, etc. How did I become homeless.  Do we consider foster care, juvy or group homes?  Then off & on since elementary school.  I was the “bad kid”.  Now, I was asked to leave as I overstayed my welcome.  Lots to say, little time. I just want a real community that doesn’t treat me less than.  A family I can call my own.  I want a relationship & off of having to rely on state/gov/non-profit assistance and have my independence back while having a real community with  me but one who doesn’t act fake around me as I hate being manipulated. —-------------- Margot Es dificil estar en la calle.  Hay mucho peligro y no quiere Dejan. El. Chel te ya que nos a dado mucho Siino-lumorauo.  En la calle —------------ While will whiskey is bad to bring to the hospital —-------------- I define this state as true misery.  The lack of a comfortable chair, where you can also put your feet after a long day, lamp for reading.  A bed where you can lay down, clean sheets that are your sheets, your quilt, your pillow.  A window you can look out, and adjust for air circulation and freshness.  A door that locks securely.  A closet where you can hang your clothes.  A painting, A photo A rug A mug A box of tea. A coat on a hook your books art supplies/fabric/sewing supplies.  Place of safety with family + friends. —-------- Damaris Milagros Lozada-Felix the  Now Amanda Anastasia Putri Seagal Rodriguez Arranging the tree on a Sunday of Women Empowerment and as I struggle and as I seen to battle…But determine I choose to have it arrange. Between the glue, the glitter, my finger with glue over it I still choose to have it between their message on style the silver, light pink,, medium pink or dark pink.  San Valentine’s will have it’s first first of expression of it’s color and truth!  However, my children remember me too with a thank without gift with a sorrow in the truth that in each year my absence.  Does not mean I don’t love you too.   So if reckless? Or not is a pretty tree too.  That In my absence remember me too for a second or two you mothers? Loves as a universe from the distance of two!  Amand Anastsia.  That’s what’s Happening The San Valentines Day from Homelessnes —--------- Homelessness to me is not having a stable living space that you can comfortably maintain.  I became homeless because of my (at the time) undiagnosed mental health and illness.  Because of my Bipolar disorder I was unable to maintain a job Having a home means progress to me.  On a happy note I have been accepted into a tiny home village. —---------------- Arden G Frankly, it’s in the name.  I got into an abusive relationship after my husband and child died, because I hated that I had not died + found someone who would hate me just as much.  He shot me, I ran, no one helped me. Home is a lack of fear when the end of the month comes.  You know you’re not going anywhere. Home is painting the walls without worrying about the deposit.  Home is quiet in the morning, a lock on the bathroom, shouting when I want, cooking for others. —--------